


And all of the stars

by Significant_What



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, M/M, Sick Fic, Slice of Life, Space Dorks, Space Gays, just kind of everyday life, no real plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-14
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2019-03-04 22:18:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13374204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Significant_What/pseuds/Significant_What
Summary: ”So, tell me”, Nico finally says, lowering his PADD and furrowing his brow. ”What happened to this other couple you mentioned?” Will makes a strange noise, like he has no idea what Nico is talking about. ”Chief of medical and first officer?”Will thinks for a few seconds, then snaps his fingers. ”Oh, right. Their ship disappeared into Dominion space some twenty years ago, I think. No one’s heard from them since. There was a rescue mission, but no wreckage was found.”Nico blanches and turns over to look at Will with slight concern. ”That’s not overly encouraging, Will.”But, as always, Will is the optimistic one. ”I’d rather think it as the expectations being extremely low and easy to beat."





	And all of the stars

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in a week, which lately must be some kind of a record for me. I haven't had this kind of flow for writing since I wrote the first part of the soccer mom AU.
> 
> Anyway. Since I still have to watch all the movies and the Enterprise and Discovery series and half of Voyager, too, my knowledge of the Star Trek universe is imperfect. But I have tried to write this as best I can, and I'm surprisingly proud of how it turned out, so I hope you'll enjoy it too.
> 
> I have so much more for this AU in my mind that didn't make it to the story, like backstories for multiple characters and how they relate to each other and details on species and stuff. So if you're interested in hearing what more I have, or if you disagree on something, or if you just want to come and say hi, come yell at me on my Solangelo Tumblr @significant-what!

”Captain’s Personal Log, stardate 56947.0, supplementary. On this date, I have witnessed something of a miracle in the form of my first officer, commander Nico di Angelo, age 29 – ”

”Will you stop?” Nico rolls his eyes, turning down the temperature on one of his pans. ”You’re making even less sense than you usually do.”

”But this is beautiful, Nico!” Nico can hear the grin on Jason’s face without turning around. ”You’re wearing an apron! I’ve never seen you wear an apron before. Tell me, did you replicate this, or is this something you brought back from Luna?”

Nico wants to deny it, but his ears are burning, so he’s probably blushing. Maybe he can blame it on the steam rising from the kettle. ”It was a gift from Will.”

It’s a green apron with traditional Vulcan flower patterning in the hem. It’s really nothing special, not to anyone else. But Will had noticed Nico eying the fabric in the street market when they last had shore leave and visited Vulcan, and presented Nico with the apron that same night with a smile and a blush. The apron is probably one of Nico’s most valued possessions.

”And”, Nico continues as he checks the pans again and adds some pepper, ”you’ve never seen me in an apron before because so far you’ve never managed to come to dinner on time when I ask you. I wasn’t expecting you for another half an hour at least.”

”You wound me, Nico.”

Nico turns to smirk at Jason – or rather, give him an expression that he believes is close enough to a smirk. Expressing his emotions are still hard for him, he gets them mixed up easily. He’s been working on that with Will.

Dinner with Jason once a week is tradition. They’ve done this since they boarded the _Enterprise_ four years ago, deciding that even though their life on a star ship might become unpredictable they should always have one thing they could count on, other than the Starfleet regulations. At first they depended purely on replicator food, as most of the ship crew does, but in the long months that nothing particularly exciting happened and they were bordering the line of boredom, Nico spent three hours a week in the holodecks. He learned from the best cooks in the history, from a dozen different Federation worlds. By the time he let Jason taste his cooking he was already worth at least one Earth Michelin stars.

This time Nico has prepared an old Italian dish from Earth; pasta and tomato sauce with lots of garlic. It’s one of the only dishes he knew how to do before, something his human grandmother taught him many years ago. The dish is special to Nico. He’s only ever cooked it for three other people, Jason being one of them, and he’s never, ever, told the recipe to anyone. He will take it to his grave.

(Truth be told, Nico hasn’t really cooked anything for anyone but Will, Jason, and Hazel. Will has been talking for months about how they should cook something for the entire senior staff. Nico isn’t convinced.)

”Ah, pasta day!” Jason’s eyes gleam as they sit down to eat, and he inhales deeply to take in the smell. ”I keep telling you, Nico, you can do some fine elaborate five course meals, but this is still your best one. I have never had pasta this good, ever. And I spent most of my school breaks in Italy when I was a kid!”

The corner of Nico’s mouth twitches a little at the compliment. It’s not quite a smile, but it’s the closest to a real one yet, so Nico thinks Jason should take it as a win.

Nico eats in silence and listens to Jason recount the funniest moments of the past week. Nico listens closely, even though he himself was present for many of these events; he has noted that Jason has a tendency to later ask his opinion on something and would probably be disappointed, if not hurt even, if Nico hadn’t been paying suitable attention.

(Nico never admits to himself that he actually likes watching Jason recount stories. Jason is good at that, but Nico wouldn’t stoop so low as to actually admit that he _likes_ something about Jason. Nope. There must be some other reason they have been best friends for the past ten years.)

”So, actually”, Nico says halfway through the meal, putting down his fork and spoon and taking the tiniest sip of his water. ”I kind of wanted to ask you something.”

Jason places a hand over his heart and sighs dramatically. ”Oh, _Nico_ , this is so _sudden_! I don’t know what to say!”

Nico, unimpressed by Jason’s humor, just stares at him until he stops snickering. One of Nico’s feet keeps tapping nervously, and he finds that he needs another sip of water before he can come up with the correct words to say.

”I wish to inquire if… I mean, would there be any bigger living quarters, if one was to ask for them?” Nico hates how he starts talking like his grandfather when he gets nervous about something. Will says it’s cute, but Nico thinks he says that because he knows Nico is insecure about it.

Jason’s eyes sparkle. ”And what would you do with bigger living quarters, my friend?” he teases. Nico knows that Jason must be fully aware what he is trying to tell him. ”Build a bigger kitchen, perhaps?”

Nico’s ears are burning again. He wishes he didn’t favor the short and traditional Vulcan haircut. If he let his hair grow, like Will has asked him to many times, he could hide the tips of his ears and no one would ever know. But, alas, his ears are in plain sight, pointed tips and all, and by the look on Jason’s face, they’re also bright red.

No reason beating around the bush, then. Nico takes a slow, deep breath and says, ”Will and I have been talking about moving in together, and neither of our quarters are quite big enough to accommodate two people.”

The look on Jason’s face is the look of a winner. What he has won, Nico has no idea. ”So I take it things are going well between you and the good doctor?”

Nico doesn’t exactly want to elaborate on how his relationship with Will has deepened and grown every day since they met, or how it continues to expand with every moment they spend together. Not to Jason Grace, his captain, and certainly not to Jason Grace, his best friend. But he knows Jason won’t leave it be until he’s got something, so he shrugs, picks up his glass again, and holds it to his lips when he quietly, almost inaudibly, admits, ”Well, I guess you could say that.”

As if still waiting for the elaboration that they both know is not going to happen, Jason looks at Nico over his plate and chews on some pasta. Nico counts to fifty, one hundred, one hundred and forty-seven, until Jason finally opens his mouth.

”You know I’m going to need at least some details later.” Jason, too, pick up his glass and raises it to a faux toast. ”Here’s to my first officer and best friend finally understanding what’s so great about love! I’ll see what I can do about those quarters.”

Nico smiles to his glass and knows that Jason will have the new quarters assigned for them first thing in the morning.

**

When he walks through the corridors with the last of his belongings in a cardboard box, Nico thinks about the day he first met Will. Has it already been four years? Must be, a little over four years since they boarded _USS Enterprise_ for their very first mission.

A medical inspection for all crew members when boarding a starship is not only mandatory; it’s protocol. Nico had scheduled his at 0900 hours the day he boarded, it being among the very first things he did on the ship. Nico has never been too fond of doctors and med bays, so he had wanted the whole thing to just be over and done with.

His doctor, however, had had something else in mind.

Nico can remember with startling clarity the exact moment he realized he had feelings for the ship’s chief medical officer. It had been when, at 0917 hours, Doctor William Solace had looked up at him, dropped his medical tricorder, and without batting an eye said, ”Well, there goes that, along with the rest of my sanity.” Then, about five seconds later with the tricorder back in his hand, Doctor Solace had continued, ”What are you doing tonight? I’m thinking Risan mashed potatoes and some medium rare steak.” Just like that, like it had been the most natural thing in the world.

Back then, Nico had pushed it aside, thinking this was just something the doctor did, flirt with the patients to keep the atmosphere relaxed and casual. But, as it pretty quickly turned out, this was not the case, and the excessive flirting and dropping things to the floor only happened when Nico was present.

Nico fights off a private smile, turning his head when he walks past an ensign so that she doesn’t see. He takes the turbo lift two decks down, standing in silence while two security officers chat on about some beach party last weekend on one of the holodecks, and emerges with a small nod to the crewmen. One of these days, Nico thinks, he needs to take the time to memorize the names of the new staff they picked up from Jupiter Station a few weeks ago.

Nico expects the new quarters to still be bare and lifeless, like the ones they offer to visitors. But it appears Will has already been there before his shift in the med bay, and so there are a few knick knacks on the shelves, and the curtains are sheer and silvery instead of the standard blue, and there’s a picture of Will’s brother on a table near the door. A blanket has been thrown over the back of the couch, and there’s a PADD thrown carelessly on the coffee table, like it was left there in a hurry.

It all makes Nico’s heart feel a little tight, like there just isn’t enough room for all the things he’s feeling at once. He sets down the box from his hands and picks up the PADD; it’s some new article about the research development in the positronic brain field, an article Will has been looking forward to for weeks, ever since Doctor Yew on the Jupiter Station hinted towards it. The PADD was last opened at 0756. Nico rolls his eyes. Apparently Will has been reading the article and almost missed his shift because of it. That’s such a _Will_ thing to do.

Nico has just about managed to put away the rest of his things (even though he wonders how long it will actually take until everything has really found its place in the new quarters) when the doors open and Will’s cheery voice declares, ”Honey, I’m home!”

Nico doesn’t even have time to fully turn around from the shelf before Will’s arms are around him, hugging him tightly from behind. ”You’ve been itching all day to say that, haven’t you?” he asks, only subtly leaning back against Will while still rearranging the old leather bound paper books to alphabetical and therefore a more logical arrangement.

”Try all _week_ ”, Will mumbles where his face is pressed against the skin of Nico’s neck, tickling a few kisses there. Nico doesn’t mind, just tilts his head a little to the side to give Will more room to work with. ”I’ve been going _insane_ with anticipation. But now you’re finally here, and I’m here, and _we’re_ here, and these are _our quarters_ , Nico, and did you know that there has been exactly _one_ happy relationship between a chief of medical and a first officer on the same starship in _all_ of Federation history?”

”Wow”, Nico can’t help but chuckle. He places one hand over Will’s around his abdomen, feeling how it trembles with excess energy. ”How many coffees have you had today, exactly?”

”Three. And not just any coffees, _raktajinos_. Much stronger.”

Nico can tell. He bets Will is going to have a massive headache in approximately one and a half hours. Will has never been that good with caffeine, which is exactly why Nico has made his best effort to keep him away from raktajinos so far. Seems like he has to figure out something else from now on.

In the end, they settle down reading on the couch, with Will’s back against the arm rest and Nico leaning back against Will’s chest. It’s like every other late afternoon – except that this time the couch isn’t just Will’s or Nico’s, it’s theirs together, and for some reason this makes it hard for Nico to focus on the report from their last away mission.

”So, tell me”, Nico finally says, lowering his PADD and furrowing his brow. ”What happened to this other couple you mentioned?” Will makes a strange noise, like he has no idea what Nico is talking about. ”Chief of medical and first officer?”

Will thinks for a few seconds, then snaps his fingers. ”Oh, right. Their ship disappeared into Dominion space some twenty years ago, I think. No one’s heard from them since. There was a rescue mission, but no wreckage was found.”

Nico blanches and turns over to look at Will with slight concern. ”That’s not overly encouraging, Will.”

But, as always, Will is the optimistic one. ”I’d rather think it as the expectations being extremely low and easy to beat”, he says, helping Nico settle back down and picking up his PADD to finish the article.

(In the morning, when Nco and Will stumble to a senior staff meeting at 0809 hours, late as Nico has never been and uniforms only just on right, Nico blames it on forgetting to set up his alarm in the new quarters. In truth, it has very little to do with alarms, and everything to do with the fact that he isn’t exactly used to waking up next to Will, and this got him distracted.

From the looks on people’s faces, everyone else knows this, too.)

**

It’s been weeks since they last saw another ship, other than some cargo shuttles heading for Ferenginar with nothing interesting to report. Nico has finished and forwarded all of his mission reports, he’s played more games of three-dimensional chess than he can count, he’s been reading on ancient Bajoran prophecy texts from the database for something to do, and the next bit of uncharted space is still light years away. Days are getting long and boring, and Nico can see it on the crew, how their movements get sluggish and how the holodecks are always running, almost day and night.

Maybe there’s some unexplained rule of the universe, that there can be only so many days without action. Whatever it is, Nico is really glad when Ensign Stoll finally reports something than a passing asteroid.

”Captain, a Federation ship coming to sensor range.”

And suddenly there is much more movement on the bridge. Jason sits up straight, Reyna pushes some extra buttons on her tactical board, Piper straightens her uniform. It’s like everyone gets a new surge of energy from just that small bit of action.

And then Reyna gets the ship’s info. Nico can hear the surprise in her voice. ”It’s the _USS Yamato_ , sir – Captain Jackson is hailing us.”

Nico turns to look at Jason, who has an amused (and, under the surprise, excited) look on his face. ”On screen.”

Even now, years and years after anything he’s ever felt towards Percy Jackson has long since died, seeing that face gives Nico an initial shock. Because even from a critical, objective point of view, Captain Jackson is attractive. Way more attractive that Nico thinks is polite. And he’s not the only one who notices it; there’s a reason Percy has been names _Handsomest Captain in the Alpha_ _Quadrant_  five years in a row.

But then in comes the smirk, and the picture shatters in Nico’s eyes. He doesn’t like the smirk. He’s never liked it, not even when he was a little starry eyed kid on Luna, following the school swim team star around like a lost puppy.

”Ah, Captain Grace, so good to see a familiar face on that screen for a change”, Captain Jackson smiles. Nico can see his eyes go through the people he can see on his view screen. ”Commander Ramirez-Arellano, always a pleasure… Mrs Grace, looking radiant, did you do something different with your hair?” Nico can tell the exact moment Percy’s eyes land on him. ”Nico! You have no idea how good it is to see your happy face in this part of the quadrant! It’s been way too long, my friend.”

Nico manages a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. ”Likewise.” His feelings towards Percy aren’t exactly hostile, but it is easier to keep him at an arm’s length than to be overly mushy. This is the case with most people, Nico has learned.

Captain Jackson just laughs. ”Still so short worded. Some things never change.”

”To what do we owe this pleasure?” Jason asks then, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Everyone on the bridge is giddy and relaxed; they know the _Yamato_ crew, some of them have served with them. And what’s more, each and every one of them knows what meeting up with _USS Yamato_ means.

”Oh, we were just in the neighborhood”, Percy says rather dismissively. Nico resists the urge to roll his eyes. ”Had a rendezvous and shared shore leave with the _Cortez_ crew last week, now we’re on our way back to Starfleet head quarters.”

”Right. And how is Captain Chase?” Nico thinks it’s rather ridiculous that they keep using titles and talking so formally when they’re literally all friends since their Academy days. But then again, perhaps it is only logical. They are all on duty, after all.

The grin on Percy’s face goes stupid then, if even for a while. It reminds Nico a little of Will, for some reason. ”She’s _wonderful_ ”, Percy says, and Nico can see Frank to his left hiding a smile. The romance between Percy and the captain of _USS_ _Cortez_ , Annabeth Chase, is the subject of many legends – as well as many jokes told in taverns across all Federation space.

Jason and Percy change a few more pleasantries back and forth, and through all this, the crew waits in anticipation. It’s interesting to see which one of the captains makes the suggestion. It says a little about how the next few days are going to go.

”Our sensors tell me there’s an M-class planet in the third starsystem over, and I’m sure yours tell you the same”, Captain Jackson finally smirks, leaning back in his chair like he’s lounging in his living room rather than sitting on the bridge of a starship. ”Tell me, Captain Grace, is your crew in shape for a round of capture the flag?”

**

A friendly game of capture the flag has more or less become a tradition between the _Enterprise_ and _Yamato_ crews; this is the fourth time in as many years they have organized a game on the nearest M-class planet without intelligent life in their meeting. The _Enterprise_ has won three times – the last time they played, Captain Jackson swore they would even up eventually.

”I still think your second win was unfair”, Percy tells Nico, Will, Piper, and Jason over dinner the night before the game. ”You got help from _USS Cortez_!”

Nico snorts. ”Careful, Jackson, or someone might think you hold a grudge for us because you lost to your wife.”

”It’s not cool that she decided to help _you_ , not me”, Percy pouts around his fork. ”Come on, Nico, you of all people should agree that the most logical thing for her to do would have been to combine forces with the _Yamato_.”

Whether he means to or not, Percy Jackson has always managed to tick Nico’s nerve by explicitly pointing out Nico’s Vulcan blood. Nico is merely one eighth Vulcan – there’s much more human in him. And yet, Percy seems to find it amusing that Nico sometimes has trouble making decisions based on emotion, not logic, something Nico has always been very self-conscious about.

”On the contrary”, Nico says to spite him, even though he must admit that Percy sort of has a point. ”Given her tendency to enjoy a win more than a good match, and the fact that you seem to be incapable of hurting her in anyway, even in the middle of a game, the logical solution for her was to play against you and hence secure her win.” What he doesn’t say is that, had Annabeth chosen to put the _Cortez_ crew with the _Yamato_ , Percy’s team would definitely have won.

Percy lets it go (for now, at least; Nico knows he has an unfortunate habit of bringing old things up again and again for years) and turns to Will instead. ”What about you, Doc? Are you going to sit this one out, or are you just _dying_ to get a piece of the action?”

Will hums, and Nico tries to keep his face straight when he feels a foot crazing his under the table. ”I think I’m going to pass. The radiation bursts in the upper atmosphere makes it unpredictable and possibly dangerous to beam people on board, so Doctor Fletcher and I are going to set up a joined medical tent on the surface for both teams. On the border, no man’s land one hundred meters each side. We have a few doctors and nurses on each ship reporting to assist.”

Jason nods, his face scrunched up in thought. ”Smart. No fighting in the medical tent, yet combined strengths and equipment. Good thinking.” He looks up at Percy and grins. ”You better be ready for your fourth loss – Chief Valdez has tinkered some pretty nice new toys for us to try out.”

Percy and Jason spend the rest of the night throwing friendly quips back and forth, with Will and Nico adding a word or two in the middle. Piper keeps mostly quiet, but that might be because her mind is already going through strategies and defence plans; she’s a real fighter, alright. Nico admires her greatly.

Nico and Will walk half asleep back to their own quarters a little before midnight, which barely gives them enough time to sleep before they have to get up for a tactical meeting at 0600 hours. Nico may curse Jason for scheduling a meeting for a silly game before the senior staff meeting, but at the same time he’s really excited – capture the flag on an unfamiliar planet is the most excitement people living on a starship get, most of the time.

And it has to be said about Starfleet folk: they take their games seriously. There are maps across the ready room screens, crew divided into six task forces with different strengths and missions, a separate group in charge of making sure each team has their allowed weapons and field rations.  It’s almost like preparing for a real battle, except that this is against good friends and at the end of the meeting everyone has an excited smile on their face.

By the time the actual game is scheduled to begin two days later, Nico has run so many simulations on the holodecks that he knows the planet like the back of his hand without ever having stepped foot on the surface before. He’s alert and ready, and when he exits the shuttle they used to transport the teams to the planet he readily accepts Will’s kiss for good luck before running off to hide the flag three hand picked team members.

”Make sure I don’t see you in the med tent before you’ve won!” Will yells after him, and Nico smirks to himself. He has no intention on getting injured and benched out of the game.

The game isn’t their longest, but not their shortest, either. For almost two days Nico sneaks and hides, runs and crawls, using his com badge only once to get medical help for a team mate when she falls off a cliff. Nico manages to get a total of seventeen members of the _Yamato_ crew to their prison, his own personal record. He doesn’t sleep, he only eats when it’s absolutely necessary, constantly hearing Will’s voice in his head nagging about how he should take better care of himself. _You shouldn’t starve yourself for the sake of a stupid game_. It makes Nico smile in spite of the fact that the field rations taste like dust.

It’s getting dark at the end of the second day when the game suddenly ends. Nico hears the shouts before he sees the crowd rushing towards the border. He starts running toward them to offer assistance, but before he can take two steps he gets a phaser shot to his leg. The shot itself does very little (they are set to minimum shock, and the aim is careful not to hit him over the knee; that’s one of the ground rules of their game), but it does send Nico off balance, tumbling down the hill out of control.

He must hit his head pretty bad, because when Nico opens his eyes he’s back aboard the _Enterprise_ , staring at the ceiling of the med bay.

”Did we win?” he croaks as soon as he can control his facial muscles again. Will’s frowning face swims to his vision, and Nico thinks that two days away has somehow made Will even more attractive than he already was. He absentmindedly wonders why that is.

”Fortunately for you, we did.” Will checks his data, still holding that same expression. Nico isn’t sure if it’s more worry or frustration. ”I told you I didn’t want to see you in the med tent.”

Nico tries to laugh, but he’s exhausted, so he settles for a huff. ”Well, I mean, we’re _not_ in the tent.”

Will rolls his eyes, but Nico can see he’s at least a little amused. ”No, but initially we were. You were hurt pretty bad and needed surgery, and since the game had ended we decided to take one of the shuttles and get you to med bay for better equipment instead of depending on the limited kit in the tent.”

”What he isn’t telling you is that he was going bat shit crazy with worry.” Nico turns his head to see Jason leaning against one of the control panels, arms crossed on his chest and a smirk on his face. ”I’ve never seen him like that before. When we carried you to the tent, Doc here looked like he was ready to use his scalpel on anyone who stood in his way. Was talking my ear off all the way back to the ship, too.”

Nico feels his ears burning, but he’s pretty sure it’s not nearly as bad as Will’s whole face. He looks like a tomato. ”You were worried about me?” Nico asks, attempting at a teasing tone but ending up with some sort of wonder instead. Man, he _really_ hit his head hard, didn’t he?

Will attempts to hide his immediate embarrassment on being called out like that. ”Of course I was, stupid”, he says with less annoyance than he probably meant to, then snaps his tricorder shut and releases Nico from the examination restraints. ”Now, you’re still going to have a massive head ache, but that’s not more than what you deserve, if you ask me. Otherwise you’re fine, and free to go.” Will smiles, then, that warm and affectionate thing he has reserved just for Nico, and touches the inside of his wrist gently. ”Go get some rest. I’m going to finish up here and then follow suit. See you in a bit.”

(Nico’s heart flutters a little. He hopes no one else notices.)

They hold off the celebration for their victory until the next evening, given that most of the crew is seriously sleep deprived and dehydrated. By the time Nico walks to Ten Forward the party is already in full swing, and he has learned that in the end it was Reyna who carried the _Yamato_ flag over the border. Apparently the new scanning devices Chief Valdez had come up with made all the difference, and he has already patented the invention. Nico overhears Hazel trying to talk him out of naming the thing _Valdezinator_. (Nico strongly agrees with her.)

Ten forward is full of people, with most of the _Yamato_ crew on board to celebrate with them before they are to resume their course towards the Terran system. Nico enjoys the party, which is saying a lot since he rarely likes parties at all. But he barely ever gets to see these people, and he has to admit that he has missed their company, even if he doesn’t know half of them as well as he probably ought to. It further solidifies his thoughts when he sees Hazel smile up at Yamato’s first officer with stars in her eyes. As her brother, it gives Nico unexplainable joy to see her that happy, even when he is acutely aware that there is a conversation he needs to have with Frank before he can allow him to leave the ship.

”Now there’s a sight you don’t see every day”, Will smirks when he walks up to Nico by the bar, where Chief Valdez is providing entertainment by flirting with the barkeep, getting little real response from her. ”Nico di Angelo, actually smiling at a social event? Please tell me someone took a holopic.”

”You’re insufferable”, Nico says with all the love he can muster, which is a lot when it comes to Will. He doesn’t even flinch when Will reaches out and takes a sip of his drink. ”Hey, did you hear? There was this capture the flag game that ended yesterday. I hear the winning team is really awesome.”

Will’s arm finds it’s rightful place around Nico’s waist. Nico lets it, even though this is the most affectionate he thinks he’s ever allowed himself be with Will in public. He doubts anyone will actually mind, though – it is a party, after all.

”Is that what you heard?” Will teases, and oh, Will’s face is closer to the side of Nicos head than Nico originally anticipated. He can feel Will’s breath against his cheek in a way that makes him wonder if he should take a step back, after all. Party or not, this is still a very public place. ”Well, I was told that the chief medical officer on this ship has the universe’s biggest crush on one of the players brought to his medical tent.”

Will’s hand on Nico’s hip feels dangerous. Nico takes a quick look around to make sure no one is looking at them weird, then risks leaning in just enough to press his shoulder against Will’s chest. ”That’s some good gossip you have there”, he says lowly. ”You might like this, then: I have it on an extremely reliable source that the feeling is mutual. Even though the doctor apparently has this ridiculous addiction to 20th century crime novels.”

Nico can feel the laughter rumble in Will’s chest, and it plays with his heart strings just right. Four and a half years, wonderful years, and hearing Will’s laugh is still, without fail, the best part of Nico’s day.

”Could you be persuaded to ditch this place and have a party of our own?” Will whispers really close to Nico’s ear, and yes, Calypso is definitely giving Nico a _look_ now, smirking while her hands expertly mix the drink without her looking. ”I haven’t really congratulated you on that win properly yet.”

”Let’s go.” Nico grabs Will’s hand and leads him out of Ten Forward, dodgin as many gazes as he can on the way. After all, parties are fun every once in a while (or, in Nico’s case, every twenty-five years or so), but time with Will is always so much better.

**

Theoretically speaking, nine hours alone in a shuttle with Will is pretty much the definition of paradise for Nico. Or rather, it would be if it didn’t feel like he was being escorted to his own execution.

Why he is so nervous about meeting Will’s mother for the first time, Nico has no idea. From what he has gathered from Will and from those few times he has seen her in subspace transmissions, Mrs Solace (or, Doctor Solace, but that would be just very confusing) is a warm and easygoing person, just like Will is. She’s clever and smiles easy, and given that she’s given charge of an entire medical station near the Romulan border, whe must be an incredibly accomplished doctor.

On one hand, Nico really appreciates the fact that Will was able to talk Jason into giving them an entire week’s worth of leave for this trip. Given the way their relationship has turned into what Will calls serious in the past year, with them moving in together and further establishing that they are willing to hold on to each other, Nico thinks it is about time he did the right thing and met Will’s family. He has met Michael, Will’s older brother, a few years ago, soon after he had first started going out with Will, but has yet to properly meet their mother.

But then on the other hand, Nico feels what he might call _terrified_. Will and his mother seem awfully close, despite only seeing each other twice a year at most. What happens if Mrs Solace takes one good look at Nico and decides she wants nothing to do with him, and tells him in no uncertain terms to get out of Will’s life? Rationally, Nico knows that the odds of this happening are extremely slim, and that he’s more likely to get on Mrs Solace’s good side in no time. Still, the possibility to spend a week with a woman that could very well resent him is not really on Nico’s bucket list.

Trying not to show Will how unsettled he feels, Nico leans back on his chair and tells the computer to play something from his personal music files.

”No, stop, belay that order.” The music stops, and Nico turns to look at Will who has a memory chip in his hands. ”I made us a playlist for the journey!”

Nico frowns. He hasn’t noticed Will making a playlist, but thinks that this probably shouldn’t surprise him. ”What’s wrong with my music?”

Will barely looks up from where he’s already inserting the chip to the consol. Soon, one of Will’s favorite Earth songs starts playing. It’s not what Nico usually listens to, but he can indulge Will every once in a while ”I love you, Nico, but I will _not_ listen to Klingon operas for nine hours, not even for you.”

Nico mutters something about how it wouldn’t have been only Klingon operas all the time, but his protest is half-hearted at best. Will knows him better than that. That’s why Nico also knows that Will can see something is bothering him, even when neither of them says it in so many words.

It’s almost a half hour of silence after that. Nico busies himself with an article about the latest findings in the Delta quadrant. The music has been lowered to a quiet hum in the background, just enough to cover the sound of the warp engines, and Nico thinks it’s not so bad. He would have probably done the same with his own music, so it really doesn’t matter what they listen to, in the end. Will is reading one of his crime novels again – that is, until he isn’t, anymore.

Nico notices the staring as soon as it starts, but as it is normal for Will to forget himself and sometimes stare at Nico for long moments at a time, sometimes multiple times a day, Nico doesn’t let it bother him. He quite likes it, in fact. Will doesn’t look at anyone else the way he looks at Nico; it makes Nico feel special. Sometimes Nico stares back, himself, and he can see the appeal.

Will breaks the companionable silence with a quiet voice that Nico wouldn’t hear if hir ears weren’t so wired to listen to Will. ”You worry too much, you know. She’s going to love you.”

Nico closes his PADD and sets it aside, then looks up at Will. Nico admires the way Will holds himself, like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Maybe he doesn’t. It is, after all, Will’s mother they are going to visit, and it has become evident that Will’s relationship with his mother is vastly different from the one Nico has with his father. And Nico is quite an excellent pilot, if he does say so himself, so there is nothing to worry about the travel there, either. It must be nice, Nico thinks, to be able to relax like that and lean against the chair and just know that it’s all going to be alright.

”And how do you know that?” Nico asks Will. Not because he doubts him, not exactly, but because he is curious about his logic.

But Will, as Nico should already know, rarely uses logic in these kinds of things. Will is a highly emotion based being, which makes him difficult for Nico to understand sometimes, but not any less intriguing. In fact, Nico finds that the constant complexes and surprises make their relationship even more enjoyable.

”Because _I_ love you”, is how Will explains his conclusion, like that should be enough, and maybe it is, and suddenly the space between their chairs is too big because it keeps Nico away from Will.

**

Will’s mother is nothing like Nico expects.

This much is evident before he even meets her, when they’re making themselves ready in their assigned room in the medical station and Will promptly asks Nico to forgo the Starfleet uniform and dress casually instead.

”I know she’s pretty much running the place by now, and that’s cool and all”, Will explains when he hands Nico a pair of dark pants and a rather plain shirt from their shared suitcase. ”But we’re not on duty on this trip, and trust me, she’ll appreciate this. She wants to meet Nico, my boyfriend, not Commander di Angelo, first officer of the starship _Enterprise_.” Will throws Nico a wink over his shoulder before leaving the room. ”I’m certain she’ll be impressed by both, though.”

Nico isn’t as sure. He’s rather nervous, actually. Isn’t it supposed to be challenging to impress your partner’s parents? Will makes it sound like it won’t be even a little bit hard, or like Nico doesn’t even have to worry himself about it. Nico isn’t an expert on meeting parents, but he has understood there’s always threats of some level involved. He isn’t one hundred per cent certain he knows how to respond to potential threats.

Still, Nico listens to Will and changes into the clothes laid out for him, sending a quick longing look to his trusty red and black uniform. It has become almost like a second skin, and Nico feels strangely bare without it; a little like he’s marching into battle without an armor. He shakes his head to get rid of the silly line of thought – this is _Will’s mother_ he’s talking about, not a fleet of Borg ships.

Will is trying to tame that one curl on top of his head when Nico walks out of the bedroom to meet him – that one curl that is the most insistent one Nico has ever encountered. No matter what Will does, it tends to stick out and be seen, right there above his left ear. It makes Will look immensely more endearing in Nico’s eyes. 

”Come on.” Will gives up with the curl and takes Nico’s hand, and with that simple action takes away a little of his nervousness. ”I’ve wanted to introduce you two properly for the longest time!”

They meet Mrs Solace in one of the cafés in the lower rings of the station, not too far from where their guest quarters are located on the lower habitat ring. Nico recognizes her immediately, and not only because he has seen pictures and subspace transmissions; she radiates the same kind of invisible light and aura Will does, which makes it impossible not to see the relation between them. Will has his mother’s golden hair and seemingly permanent smile, as well as the freckles that sprinkle across his cheek bones and the bridge of his nose. But while Will’s eyes are blue, Mrs Solace’s are a shade of warm brown, and they look at Nico with such a kindness that Nico has only experienced from his own mother before this.

It all gathers into a lump to Nico’s throat as they get closer to Mrs Solace. This is not _at all_ like Nico had assumed their first meeting face to face would go.

”Ah, Nico! It’s so good to finally meet you.” Mrs Solace approaches them with her arms wide open, and doesn’t give Will as much as a look before she envelopes Nico into a warm hug, so much like Will’s that it makes Nico take moment to mentally regroup. In this situation, Nico thinks it only polite that he hug her back, and so he places a hand slowly and hesitantly on her back. ”I have heard so much about you, I feel like I’ve known you for years.”

Nico doesn’t hug people. That is just a simple fact. He has a very defined sense of personal space that most people respect. He lets Jason get close enough to clasp his shoulder, and Piper sometimes squeezes his arm affectionately, but the only people Nico ever hugs voluntarily are Hazel and Will.

Maybe it’s because she is so much like Will, but being hugged by Mrs Solace really isn’t so bad.

”I have been looking forward to meeting you as well”, Nico says when Mrs Solace lets him out of the hug, and internally grimaces at the way his words come out. He really needs to find a way to calm his nerves.

”Yes, hi, Mom. It’s me, your son Will. Nice to see you, too.”

The amusement in Will’s voice makes it clear that he is not actually annoyed about the fact that he has been shoved aside in favour of his mother getting to hug Nico. When Nico turns his head to look at him, Will is looking at the both of them with a bright smile, the knowing look in his eyes promptly telling Nico ”I told you so”.

Mrs Solace hooks her arm with Nico’s and leads him to a table while talking over her shoulder to Will. ”I’ve had a lifetime to get to know _you_ , whereas you have been keeping Nico from me for _years_ already. I think you can survive a few moments without our supervision.” Turns out her humor is almost identical to Will’s, too. Nico is glad.

The café is rather small, but their menu includes many of Nico’s favorites from various cultures, which makes him relax further. Will sits down next to Nico at the small round table and squeezes his hand under the tablecloth.

”So, Nico”, Mrs Solace smiles when they get their drinks, ”Will tells me you grew up in Luna. I’ve never had the opportunity to go; what is it like?”

Mrs Solace – who insists Nico call her Naomi, and even though this makes Nico slightly uncomfortable he decides to honor her wishes – asks many questions about Nico’s childhood, about the town he grew up in, about Nico’s favorite subject to study at the Academy. She seems very interested in hearing about Nico’s collection of old books, saying she has several herself that she inherited from her father in his passing. Nico learns a great deal about Naomi, too, and gets a better understanding of where Will comes from in the process.

Nico thinks Naomi must be aware of Nico’s family, and about the accomplishments Nico did in his years in the Academy; she seems like a person who would find out things like that easily. But they sit in the café for hours, and not once does she ask Nico about his father or his flight record. And the same happens again and again, through all the week they spend on the station; Nico and Will meet Naomi for dinner, for coffee, for walks in the arboretum, and Naomi asks Nico about his friends, about what it’s like to constantly discover new worlds and new civilizations, about the first time Nico met Will.

Nico supposes Will was right; he didn’t need to try hard to impress Naomi, because she didn’t _want_ to be impressed. She wants to get to know _Nico_ , not the Starfleet glorified first officer with a man of power as a father. She doesn’t seem to be interested in talking about the rumors that Nico’s father paid him into the Academy, or the scandal that surrounded his mother’s death. She asks about Bianca, about how often Nico gets to see her, and if it’s ever strange to serve on the same starship with Hazel.

At the end of the dinner on their last night on the station, Naomi hugs Nico again, and this time Nico hugs back a little more readily. She tells them she’s going to plan an occasion where they could all have dinner again, with Michael and Hazel and Bianca joining them. She doesn’t mention Nico’s father; perhaps because she knows he’s a busy man, or because she somehow understands that having father around would dull that dinner.

When Nico wishes Naomi good night and walks with Will back to their room for a few hours of sleep before returning to the _Enterprise_ , he takes Will’s hand and smiles. He really should trust Will a little more when it comes to meeting people.

**

Nico is not having such a great day.

Sure, it started well enough. Will was singing a Klingon opera in the sonic shower, loudly and terribly out of tune, and Nico couldn’t keep himself from laughing when he told Jason about it on their way to the bridge to relieve the Delta shift. The morning was otherwise uneventful, going through some personnel files with Reyna and having mid morning coffee with Jason in the captain’s ready room. After lunch, though, they had been hailed by a shuttle with Federation sigils. That’s when everything went wrong.

It takes all of Nico’s willpower not to kick the wall when he finally reaches an empty corridor. ”Computer, locate Hazel Levesque.”

” _Ensign Levesque is in Ten Forward_.”

When he sees her, Nico takes a small moment to just look at Hazel. She has her hair down, and she’s wearing what seems to be a dress of Bajoran design. It’s a sharp contrast to her yellow uniform and always tightly braided hair.

Hazel sees Nico when he approaches, and subtly waves her friends away. Nico shoots them a grateful nod and sits down in one of the vacated chairs.

”Whatever brings the first officer to Ten Forward while on duty? Must be serious”, Hazel jokes with a twinkle in her eyes. She picks up the cherry from the top of her dessert and uses her other hand to push a strand of hair behind her ear, carefully so it doesn’t catch in her earring.

It’s rare that Nico sees Hazel with her _d’ja pagh_ these days; it’s not exactly a part of the uniform, even though Nico is sure Jason would make an exception if Hazel were to ask him. The piece of jewellery suits her, and Nico wishes he could see her with it more often. However, they are both officers on a star ship, and their free times rarely overlap. Nico isn’t even sure he’s ever been in Ten Forward with Hazel in the two years she has been on the ship.

”Right”, Nico says, since he doesn’t exactly know how to phrase his news.

Hazel looks at Nico strangely. It reminds Nico a little of the way Jason looks at him, like she’s trying to read his thoughts through his facial expressions. Apparently Hazel is rather successful, because she frown and leans forward on the table, sipping her drink. ”It _is_ serious, isn’t it?”

Truth be told, Nico has never been very good at rephrasing news so that they sound less attacking. ”Our father is on board.”

Hazel almost spits out her drink. Nico feels a little bad about it. ”By the prophets! What is _he_ doing here?”

”Apparently he’s on his way to some diplomatic discussion on Betazed. Jason has offered transportation, since Betazed is only little ways off our path.” Nico feels strangely stressed out when he lets out a sigh. ”They are currently docking his shuttle in Hangar Bay Two.”

They make a quick stop by Hazel’s quarters, where she changes back to her uniform, and then take the turbo lift down to Hangar Bay Two to welcome their father. Nico is antsy, and he isn’t sure how he’s feeling – it’s been almost two years since he last saw his father, and even though they speak more or less once a month, it’s a little unsettling to suddenly have him on board.

Father looks exactly like he has for the past forever: tall, dominant, and still a little scary, even to Nico’s almost thirty-year-old mind. He’s clad in clothes suitable for an ambassador, dark colors with minimal but existent jewel decors on collar and cuffs. The black ring with a blood red stone is in place on the middle finger of his left hand, where it has been since the day Hazel’s mother died almost twenty years ago.

”Children”, father says with the exact tone he has used on Nico for the past twenty-five years, calling him a child even when he left for the Academy, even when he graduated, even when he was made a first officer. Father calls him a child, and suddenly Nico feels small again, and ducks his head down in shame.

What he’s ashamed of, he’s not exactly sure.

”Father”, Nico says to his toes, keeping his head down because he’s suddenly scared to look up. ”It’s good to see you.” _Good to see you, sir_ , Nico almost says, but bites his tongue on the last minute.

Father is quiet for a moment. Then, with the same icy tone that Nico has learned isn’t necessarily furious but just how father is, he says, ”I see you still insist on keeping your hair like your grandfather. I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised.”

Despite the fact that father was, according to Nico’s grandmother, very much in love with Nico’s mother, it seems like everything even slightly Vulcan in Nico rubs father the wrong way. Grandmother had said it is because it reminds him of mother, and Nico thinks this might be the case; father is the same way about Hazel and her Bajoran earring. Nico imagines that right now Hazel is very glad she chose to change into her uniform and twist her hair into a quick but at the back of her head. 

(Sometimes Nico thinks it’s truly astonishing; the fact that father has managed to find two women to fall in love with, on other sides of the quadrant, completely different from each other in every possible way, only for both of them to die a few years later accidents. It’s no wonder father has turned emotionless and closed off. Nico thinks he would too if he had to lose Will, even once.)

”I met with Bianca not two weeks ago”, father continues, and Nico risks a quick glance at his face. It doesn’t show anything, just like Nico knew it wouldn’t. ”You will be pleased to hear that she has been promoted to security chief on Farpoint Station. I suppose she will be calling you about that some day soon.”

Nico nods, and then an awkward silence falls upon them. Nico shuffles his feet. It is always like this with father. Neither of them are very keen on pleasantries, and there aren’t many things they can or want to say to each other. They live in completely different worlds. Father’s is one of politics, of keeping up diplomatic relations with other worlds as best he can. Nico’s world, on the other hand, is full of travel, exploration, and new worlds no one in the Federation has yet stepped foot on. Father can understand that as much as Nico can of political affairs, which is barely anything at all.

”Would you like me to show you to your quarters, father?” Hazel asks then, voice as sweet as ever, and Nico instantly lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

Thank goodness for Hazel. Had it not been for her, Nico thinks he and father would have stayed in that hangar for the whole duration of father’s trip.

Nico walks with them some of the way, only half listening as Hazel tells about the ship as they walk. This is father’s first visit aboard the Enterprise, but Nico can’t help but think that he looks incredibly uninterested in hearing about the holodecks and the speed limitation tests they’re doing down in engineering. Nico internally wishes Hazel to be quiet, but he’s glad she isn’t; it would mean Nico needs to think of something to say, himself.

Nico is saved by the bell, as the human expression goes. ” _Captain to Commander di Angelo. I wish to see you in my ready room_.”

Trying to hide how relieved he feels, Nico taps to his com badge. ”I’m on my way.” He turns to look at father and Hazel a little apologizing. ”I’m afraid that duty calls. It really was good to see you, father. I will try to make time for further discussion before we reach Betazed.”

Father nods. ”Perhaps dinner. Tonight, at 1900 hours? Both of you.” Nico meets Hazel’s eye, and they both nod. If there is one thing Nico and Hazel have both learned from childhood, it is that you don’t say no to father. Nico turns to head towards the bridge when father calls after him. ”And bring that young man of yours. I would be delighted to meet him.”

The image of Will and father sharing a dinner table is not one Nico is looking forward to in making a reality. ”I’ll see what I can do.” Hopefully Will is busy in the sick bay well past dinner time.

**

Unfortunately for Nico, Will is more than happy to have dinner with Nico’s father. Nico feels strangely betrayed.

”He’s your _dad_ , Nico!” Will says, surprisingly enthusiastic as he goes through his clothes even after Nico tells him father would most prefer the standard Starfleet dress uniform. ”I simply _have_ to meet him. It’s long overdue, don’t you think?”

_It wouldn’t be overdue even if it happened never_ , Nico doesn’t say. He also doesn’t correct Will that father has never exactly been _dad_ , ever. The word just simply doesn’t apply to father.

”Still, we don’t have to have dinner with him”, Nico tries, already knowing he’s losing the battle when Will takes out their dress uniforms to check them for creases. ”I mean, I know you have been pulling long days in the office, researching for that article they asked you to write. If you would prefer to just stay here and have a quiet evening, I wouldn’t mind.”

Will looks up from their clothes and immediately sees through Nico’s badly veiled attempt to cancel the dinner. ”Nice try”, he says. He lays the clothes down on the bed and walks to Nico, placing his hands reassuringly on his shoulders. ”I know you’re nervous, Nico. I might not entirely understand why, but from what little you’ve told me about your father I guess it must be perfectly reasonable. I mean, you _are_ a pretty reasonable person.”

Nico can’t exactly argue with that, so he drops any attempt to try and make Will less enthusiastic about the dinner. Instead he takes a long shower to clear his thoughts, and tries to calm his nerves as he slips on his dress uniform.

They arrive outside of father’s quarters at precisely 1859 hours – father does not like late arrivals. Hazel meets them there, also dressed in her dress uniform with her hair once again in careful plaits. Nico briefly thinks that her hair is some sort of metaphor of freedom, but doesn’t expand this thought further as Hazel leads them inside.

To Will’s credit, he doesn’t flinch when his warm smile is only met with a cold hard stare from father. Or when father all but grills Will about his accomplishments as a doctor. Or when, after the grilling is done, father simply dismisses all Will’s attempts at a conversation and instead turns his questions to Nico.

Sitting at the table, Nico can tell Will is upset. Or if not fully upset, then at least a little disheartened by the way father is acting. He doesn’t show it, keeps his smile on and pleasant all through the five course dinner, but Nico can tell because he _knows_ Will. He likes to think he knows Will better than anyone in this galaxy, save maybe for Will’s mother. Nico also knew this is how the dinner was going to turn out, right from the start, but he silences the little told you so his brain provides. He doesn’t feel particularly smug.

As they are seated on opposing sides of the table, Nico can’t even really comfort Will non-verbally. Normally he would have reached for Will’s hand at this point, or perhaps placed a hand on his thigh as a way to show support. This time Nico can do neither, and it’s making him surprisingly antsy. All he can do is hope that Will can read his thoughts when their eyes meet over the table. Not for the first time, Nico hopes the Vulcan telepathic abilities would have transferred one more generation. But maybe father’s pure human genes were simply too strong.

Hazel tries her best to keep Will included in the conversation, bless her. But father doesn’t seem to be interested in Will anymore, or in the story about the time they were stuck on a planet made of ice. Even their shared interest in 20th century literary doesn’t go anywhere when it turns out Will mostly reads crime novels.

It’s a long evening, and when they finally stand up to leave Nico almost sighs out of relief. He shakes father’s hand (remembering the warm hug from Will’s mother and suddenly feeling more of an acquaintance than a son) and agrees to see him one more time before they reach orbit on Betazed around lunch tomorrow. Hazel manages an awkward hug with father, which Nico has to admit is a big deal, and then Will takes his turn in saying goodbye.

”Thank you for including me tonight”, he says as he shakes father’s hand, and Nico admires the way he looks father right in the eye. ”It was certainly interesting.”

Father gives Will a long look, then nods and walks them to the door. Right before Nico turns down the corridor, father calls after him. If he didn’t know better, Nico would say that is an amused glint in father’s eyes.

”You have a good man there, Nico. Make sure he’s still there for a very long time.”

It must be father’s very roundabout way of saying he approves. Nico has never been this confused in his life.

**

It starts with a headache when Nico beams directly to sick bay with an unconscious Klingon boy in his arms. It seems like nothing, at least Nico tells himself that, so he doesn’t even really mention it to the nurse when she does her check up. Nico is more concerned about the boy with a missing arm and a huge clash in his forehead.

”I’m going to be fine”, he dismisses Kayla with a wave of his hand, already urning his whole attention to Will and the boy. ”Can you wake him up?”

Nico has seen many unconscious children during his time on Starfleet; many orphans, too. It’s unnervingly common in the less developed worlds they explore, and Nico has steeled his heart against the pain. But something about this little Klingon boy, so many light years away from home, has startled him. The boy can’t be older than seven, or if he is then he’s small for his age. Nico doesn’t know what is so different about him, just that something is, and it makes his heart clench when he walks closer to where Will is treating the boy.

”We found a shuttle from a Klingon Warbird near from where you found him”, Reyna is saying behind Nico, and Nico tries to focus on that as he watches Will work with the tricorder. ”Three dead Klingons inside. Looks like a shuttle crash, but Valdez is working on the shuttle’s computer, just to be sure.”

”I can revive him now”, Will says, and Nico nods quickly, ignoring the sharp pain this causes to his frontal lobe.

Almost as soon as the boy opens his eyes, he starts flailing around and panicking. It takes Nico and Reyna’s combined effort to keep him from attacking anyone until Will has managed to talk him down.

”Hush, you’re alright. You’re in a medical bay. This is a Federation starship, we are taking care of you. You don’t need to fight us.” Will repeats this for a while until the words seem to start sinking in. The boy slowly calms down enough that Nico and Reyna deem it safe to let go of his arms, and he settles back down on the examination table. ”My name is Will. I fixed that ghastly cut on your temple.” Will’s smile is calming, it seems, as the boy relaxes further and keeps his eyes on Will. ”What’s your name?" 

The boy looks a little wairily at Reyna and Nico, but seemingly decides to trust them. ”K’Kath.”

”It’s nice to meet you, K’Kath”, Will easily replies, the name dropping of his tongue softer than Klingon names have any right to be. He gestures to Nico, then. ”This is Nico. He’s the one that found you and brought you to me.”

In other circumstances Nico might object on Will using his first name and not his rank. But, Nico supposes, since K’Kath is merely a child, it doesn’t matter quite that much. (His headache is also getting worse.) ” _How are you feeling, K’Kath?_ ” Nico asks the boy in Klingon, hoping the familiar language might ease his mind.

If K’Kath is surprised to hear a Starfleet officer speak Klingon, he doesn’t show it. ” _I’m alright, sir_ ”, he says, trying to sit up again. Will helps him with that, and Reyna takes a step back to show that she does not wish to harm him. ” _Did anyone else in the shuttle survive?_ ”

” _They didn’t. I’m sorry_.” But K’Kath seems to have accepted this even before asking, and he does not show signs of surprise. He hangs his head and sighs a little, and Nico feels compelled to place an arm around his shoulders. He doesn’t. ” _Were your parents among them?_ ”

K’Kath nods, and then switches back to a language the others can understand, too. ”My father was exiled from the home world because he doesn’t agree with the Chancellor. Me and my mother left with him. Father never said where we were going, but I have never left the home world before, so I wouldn’t have known, anyway. We were going to land on that planet to see if there was anything we could refill out food stocks with, but…” K’Kath looks like he might want to cry, but Klingons do not cry. ”Father isn’t a very good pilot. He had never actually landed a shuttlecraft before. He lost control.”

Nico can imagine how the rest of the story goes, so it’s more than okay for K’Kath to stop there. Nico’s heart feels heavy, and he wonders why that is. He’s never felt like this about an orphan child before. A part of him wants to understand what’s so special about K’Kath, but another part, the one that sounds a lot like Will, asks him if that’s really necessary. Nico supposes it isn’t.

A sudden dizziness makes Nico lower himself to sit next to K’Kath on the examination table. Nico promptly ignores Will’s worried look. ”Is there anyone in the Klingon home world that we should contact? Any relatives at all?”

K’Kath shakes his head. ”My father was a traitor and an outcast. No one’s going to want anything to do with me.”

Nico is about to say something, but the thought escapes him with another wave of dizziness. He feels Will’s hand on his shoulder and realizes he has closed his eyes. He tries to open them, but his eye lids feels heavier than ever.

”Reyna, help me get him on one of the beds.” Will’s voice has a commanding undertone to it, one that Nico distantly thinks is really attractive. He feels himself being lifted up, and the touch burns in all the wrong ways, but he insists he’s fine. Just sleep deprivation, probably. ”Nico, you are definitely not fine. You have blue spots appearing everywhere, and I know for a fact that you have gotten over seven hours of sleep every night for the past week.” Nico still can’t open his eyes, but he can feel he’s being laid out on an even surface. The beeping of Will’s medical tricorder is very loud. ”Your temperature is rising rapidly.”

Will starts barking commands to his medical staff while Nico is still trying to comprehend what is happening. He was just fine not a minute ago. Kayla checked him when he came in, didn’t she? Surely she would have said if Nico was getting blue spots.

”Did you touch any of the vegetation on the planet without your gloves?” Nico hears Reyna ask, her voice stern and professional, and Nico almost flinches. But he doesn’t, because his muscles are hurting everywhere and he can barely register the question.

”I – ” Nico’s tongue feels like it’s swollen, the words come out clumsy and stuffy. ”I don’t – maybe? I can’t – Will, I can’t move my legs.”

He can still feel them, feel the tingling on his skin and the pressure of his shoes, a little not right on his toes. But when Nico tries to move them, even the tiniest bit, the muscles refuse to work. Or maybe his bones have increased in density. Or maybe Nico has just lost all his strength due to the fever. Whatever it is, it is enough to make him freak out, and judging by the way Will is ordering a forcefield and a quarantine around Nico’s bed, Will isn’t doing much better.

Nico swallows hard, and there is a lump in his throat. He doesn’t know if it’s some sort of boil or if he’s actually about to cry. ”Will – ”

”I’m going to make you okay, Nico.” Will finds the time to run a hand down the side of Nico’s face. It must be Will, because no one else would dare to invade Nico’s personal space like that. Will’s voice is low and urgent, sounding near Nico’s face, and Nico wishes he had the strength to open his eyes and see. ”I’m going to figure this out. You will be okay in no time.”

Despite the frantic tone of Will’s voice and the sound of people rushing in and out of the sick bay, end even though he sounds just as scared as Nico feels, Nico believes him.

**

Never before has Nico been in a medical quarantine. Nor has he been treated like a tissue sample in a lab. What little he registers, he doesn’t like it.

For the next three days, Nico slips in and out of consciousness in what he thinks are probably not very steady intervals. Almost every time Nico opens his eyes even a little, Will is there with a frown on his face, trying one treatment or another as Nico’s condition apparently stays the same.

By the fourth day, Nico can move his limbs again. Not much, but just that little bit of movement eases Nico’s mind immensely. Will explains that the sudden paralysis was apparently due to some kind of infection in his nerves. There’s a lot of medical vocabulary involved, but Nico’s mind is still groggy and he doesn’t quite understand. He trusts Will to bring him up to date when he’s feeling better.

Nico manages to stay conscious for over two hours this time, which is an hour more than the last time. Will takes this as a sign that the treatment is finally working, and gives Nico a wonderful smile. Nico thinks that alone makes him feel a thousand times better.

They still don’t know exactly what kind of a disease it is, but apparently the science lab has confirmed the plant it originated from and Will has been able to adjust his treatment accordingly. Chief Valdez has been working day and night, trying to understand why the sensors in the transporter didn’t detect the infection. Will has barely left the sick bay to shower, eating in his office while researching and sleeping in a chair as close to the quarantine force field as he has dared.

The force field has been deactivated now, since Will has confirmed the disease isn’t airborne or actually contagious at all; the infection only comes from a direct touch to the plant itself. Nico still feels weak and groggy, but Will sits on the edge of his bed and explains that the fever is going down and that he estimates Nico will be completely free of blue spots by dinner.

”Wha – ” Nico’s voice is caught up in a coughing fit, and it takes a while and half a glass of water until he can try again. ”What about the boy? What about K’Kath? Is he okay?”

Will sets the water glass aside and wipes the sweat off Nico’s forehead. ”He’s going to be okay. No signs of this… whatever this is. Apparently his Klingon immune system blocked it.”

Nico is glad. He feels like death, but at least K’Kath isn’t the same way. Nico’s eye lids are still heavy, but when he focuses enough he can keep his eyes open for almost a minute at a time. Will looks a little tired, but at least he’s not as concerned as he was before. Apparently the medicine is working more or less perfectly – and why wouldn’t it? Will is an excellent doctor.

”His story about the shuttle accident checks out. We’re waiting for confirmation from the Klingon home world, but so far there’s no reason not to believe his words about being alone, too.” A smile plays on Will’s lips then, and Nico thinks it might be the remnants of the fever, but Will is really very beautiful in the unnatural light of the sick bay. ”Ensign LaRue is half Klingon and has expressed interest in taking the boy in, in case any family really isn’t found. She and her wife would be excellent parents to him, I have no doubt.”

Nico doesn’t think about it much then, but when he wakes up again in the evening and Will brings him his first solid dinner in days, the words come back to him.

Hazel once asked Nico if he ever wanted kids. His answer then was short: how would he know? At the time, Nico hadn’t even met Will yet, or ever even given that much thought to a permanent relationship. Well, a relationship in general. Nico’s life was solely focused on his Starfleet career for so long that years passed by before Nico realized half of his friends were planning to get married and start families.

Then this thing with Will came along, suddenly and without a warning. At first Nico didn’t think much about it, either, but when he realized that he did actually want this thing to work, he understood that it had been his assumption from the very beginning. He didn’t go head first into the relationship, but it was never a question whether it would last or not. Being with Will was going to be _it_ for Nico from the second Will’s tricorder hit the floor that first day on board.

Nico knows Ensign LaRue. He attended to her wedding not two years ago. He remembers looking at her and her wife and hearing Will mutter something about them being beautiful together. Someone had mentioned in a toast that they can’t wait for the two of them to start a family so they can babysit. Nico can remember thinking that getting married doesn’t automatically mean starting a family.

True, Nico and Will aren’t married like Ensign LaRue and her wife. So maybe this line of thought isn’t really necessary. But he can’t help but think about the fact that his father wasn’t yet married to his mother when Bianca was born, so starting a family doesn’t automatically mean you are expected to be married, either. This is the 24th century, after all.

Nico looks at Will, who has dragged his good chair next to Nico’s bed and is babbling about this week marking the sixth time he has fixed Lieutenant Ramirez Arellano’s dislocated shoulder after _mok’bara_ class this month alone. Do Will’s thoughts ever travel the same paths Nico’s do?

_Of course they do_ , Nico thinks and hides his smile by stuffing the fork to his mouth. It’s _Will_. Will is the romantic one in their relationship, and the family guy, and the planner. And Will loves kids; that much is evident to anyone who’s seen Will in the same room with a child. The way his face brightens, how he squats down to meet them on their eye level, how he manages to talk to them like an equal instead of talking down on them. As someone who most of the time feels awkward around small children, Nico is rather envious.

Nico doesn’t want a family right now. He has been with Will for well over four years now, closing on five, but they have only been living together for seven months, and it still feels very new. Nico has been thinking about traditions, and expectations set by the unfair structure of society, and they don’t feel so bad. But family, Nico thinks, comes after. He’s still coming to terms with the fact that Jason and Piper are expecting their first child and insist on calling him _Uncle Nico_.

But, for a moment at least, Nico allows himself to imagine it. He’d finish his shift and stop by the class rooms so he could walk back to their quarters together with their child. He’d cook, and Will would set the table for three, or maybe four, and during dinner Will would ask of their homework was finished. They could go hiking together on the holodecks as a family, agreeing on the slightly easier routes than the ones he now uses with Will.

Will would make such an amazing dad. Nico realizes this and instantly blushes and looks down at his half finished meal, praying that Will doesn’t notice.

(Will notices. Nico blames it on still not feeling very well, but he can tell that Will isn’t buying it.)

**

On their five year anniversary, Will takes Nico to Holodeck 3 on a date. Nico is told to wear something ”clean but casual, nothing too fancy, preferably comfortable, and maybe bring a sweater”. Nico has never been given so many instructions on how to dress up for a date, so he’s beyond curious about Will’s plans.

”I originally planned to take you _out_ out, for real I mean”, Will explains as they reach the doors. ”But there isn’t enough time for a shore leave to get where I wanted to take you, so I had to make do. Computer, run program _Solace-37-C_.”

It’s Luna. That much is clear the second Nico steps inside the program. And not just any place on Luna; it’s _Nico’s spot,_ two kilometers away from his home town. The sand beneath Nico’s feet, the smell of the artificially created ocean, the sound of the gravity stabiliser running just behind that one hill, even the temperature… Nico hasn’t been here in years, and he hasn’t realized just how much he has missed it before this moment.

”I got some help from Percy through subspace”, Will says behind him. Nico looks around in wonder, taking in every detail, making note on how everything is exactly as he remembers it. ”He told me you used to come watch the sun set here, back when you were kids.”

Maybe Nico needs to thank Percy the next time he sees him; or maybe he can give Will all the credit. He’s seriously outdone himself; this surely puts midnight walks in the ship’s arboretum to shame. Nico appreciates the way Will always goes out of his way to plan dates for them, to arrange something nice. Nico wishes he could return the sentiment, but he simply isn’t any good at planning dates. Everyday romance is more Will’s forte. (Maybe Nico can ask Piper for some pointers?)

”This is wonderful”, Nico says, a little in awe. _You are wonderful_ , he doesn’t say, but Will knows his opinion on him already, it doesn’t need mindless repeating.

Will takes Nico’s hand and leads him over the hill, where they find a previously set picnic waiting for them. This is something they were talking about just the other day – in all the time they have spent together, they have never actually done the classic picnic date before. Usually Nico prefers to sit at a table when he eats, but he agreed that it could be fun to experience something like that, something almost universal in the dating culture. 

And it _is_ fun. Will has laid out evenly cut slices of their favourite fruits and small, easy to eat versions of some pastries they tried on Dekendi III last year. There is champagne, as Will insists that this is a special night, and Nico readily agrees. Who would have thought that boarding the _Enterprise_ would result in him ending up in a relationship for five years and counting?

Will holds Nico’s hand all through their picnic, and even though eating is usually difficult with only one hand, Nico finds that Will has thought ahead, as all the food is bite size and thus easy to handle. Nico thinks Will is more organized and a better planner than people give him credit for, and briefly wonders if he should tell Jason about this experience as a reference. (He decides against it; this picnic dinner is a private matter, not a story to fulfill Jason’s need to hear every little detail about Nico’s personal life.)

The sun sets, as red and hypnotizing and beautiful as Nico remembers. Or maybe even more so, since this one he is seeing with Will and not alone and lonely. Yes, this must be why the colors are so vibrant and why Nico can’t stop smiling.

In the midst of it all, Will lets go of Nico’s hand to reach for something hidden under the corner of their picnic blanket. ”Nico”, he says, and Nico tears his eyes away from the sunset just to land his gaze on something equally breathtaking. Will looks ethereal, made of solid gold in the new light of the setting sun. He swallows a little before showing Nico what it is that he had hidden. ”There’s something I wanted to give you.”

It’s a small box, almost black against the fine skin of Will’s palm, and Nico knows immediately what’s inside. He gets a lump in his throat when he looks at it; not because he doesn’t want this or hasn’t been thinking about different scenarios like this for pretty much as long as he has known Will. But because Will still manages to surprise him, even after all this time, even with something Nico has been looking forward to, something he has been dreaming of.

Against all logic, Nico feels really emotional when Will opens the little box and shows him what’s inside. Will’s other hand finds Nico’s again, and Nico is careful not to squeeze his fingers tight enough to break them.

”It’s too much”, Nico mutters, eyes stinging as he looks at the ring, made of old Earth silver and Vulcan gemstones. ”It’s too much.”

But Will takes his hand. ”I would give you the world, Nico di Angelo”, Will says, slipping the ring on Nico’s finger and wiping away his tears, ”and all of the stars.”

And then he does.


End file.
